Going all out for Wembley
Pompey boss pledges to go all out in final showdown against Salford
KENNY JACKETT has pledged to go full strength for Pompey’s latest assault on Wembley silverware.
The Blues’ flagging League One campaign is briefly on pause as they face Salford in the Papa John’s Trophy final on Saturday.
It will be a chance to retain the Checkatrade Trophy they claimed against Sunderland in March 2019.
Never before in the competition’s 37-year history has a side kept possession of the title – albeit Saturday’s victors will then have to relinquish it the following day.
Nonetheless, Jackett views the occasion as a prized opportunity to expand Pompey’s honours list, while potentially kick-starting his fitful side back into League One form.
And he’ll do so by selecting as strong a side as possible.
He told The News: ‘We won’t be rotating the side for this game, we will be trying to see if we can build up a rhythm.
‘It’s good to see one or two people back from injury at present. James Bolton is fully fit so gives us a natural full-back that side, while Michael Jacobs has now returned.
‘We want to try to turn things around as quickly as we can and Saturday is another important game for us. We will be at full strength.
‘We have to identify what we need to do better – and there are things we do need to do a lot better. We must come out and be determined to do them and see where it takes us.
‘I’m not thinking about resting anyone. We’ll see how Andy Cannon is, but I don’t think it’s the case of rotating, all of the players will want to play.
‘We will approach this as if it’s a league game – and that will also be in our selection.’
The encounter with Salford was scheduled to take place in April 2020, however it was postponed following the coronavirus outbreak.
Since then, the Football League have struggled to find space in football’s calendar, not helped by the second lockdown pre-Christmas.
As a consequence, no supporters will be present on Saturday, unlike the Blues’ last visit, when a competition record of 85,021 were in attendance.
In addition, the 2021 Papa John’s Trophy final will take place 24 hours later between Sunderland and Tranmere.
It means Saturday’s winners will barely have time to savour the trophy before returning it to the Football League.
Still, despite the highly unusual circumstances, Jackett is adamant Pompey’s players are relishing the occasion.
He added: ‘The players definitely want to be involved at Wembley and our selection process will be very similar to the league.
‘We want to win it. And while it’s a delayed competition, we do want to win it.’